Tim Walz treads lightly on mining in resource-rich Minnesota

Environmentalists have heralded Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as a local weather champion.

However some have raised issues about Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ working mate’s document on mining. They are saying his administration hasn’t taken steps to halt mining growth, even close to watersheds that conservationists and tribes say must be protected.

Throughout a rally in Michigan final Wednesday, Walz highlighted his conservation bona fides, describing it as a price that unites Nice Lakes states.

“I gotta let you know one thing else we share, is a look after the unbelievable pure sources,” he stated. “We within the higher Midwest, in our states, we look after 20 p.c of the world’s contemporary water in these Nice Lakes.”

Relating to mining for minerals reminiscent of copper and nickel, Walz has walked a tightrope with President Joe Biden and different Democrats: wanting to guard the surroundings whereas selling financial growth and securing sources obligatory for the power transition — with out counting on imports from nations reminiscent of China. That stress is magnified in Minnesota, which federal scientists say has the most important untapped deposits of nickel and copper on the planet.

Chris Knopf, government director of Pals of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, stated he helps Walz, who has pushed by means of clear power mandates and boosted electrical autos. However Knopf famous that the governor has stayed out of larger fights involving sulfide mining.

Critics worry that the mines proposed in northern Minnesota that will faucet into sulfide ore containing metals reminiscent of copper and nickel would launch sulfuric acid and heavy metals into wetlands and rivers. That runoff, they argue, may then leach into waterways flowing into Lake Superior or the Boundary Waters, a pristine space close to the Canadian border. Mining firms counter that state research present measures will be taken to guard the surroundings throughout mining and after closure.

“On many points, he’s been very sturdy for the surroundings, however on this one, he’s been on the sidelines,” stated Knopf. “That’s type of the political calculus that Governor Walz is making there … to probably not deal with the difficulty as a approach of sustaining the political coalition.”

In his state, Walz has been in a position to safe assist from many throughout the mining divide. In northern Minnesota’s Iron Vary —the place for many years firms have dug for iron ore used to make metal — miners, unions and environmental teams all see Walz as an ally. He’s maintained these sophisticated ties at the same time as mining shifted, with firms vying to dig for metals important to creating EVs, wind generators and different know-how.

Emil Ramirez, the United Steelworkers worldwide vice chairman, stated Walz spoke on the union’s mining convention in Minneapolis two weeks in the past, telling employees the state can lead in sustainable mining. He vowed to assist increase mining within the state whereas making certain the allowing regime works.

“We had an amazing dialogue with him about the way forward for mining in Minnesota, ensuring the allowing course of is adopted, [and that] we will proceed to develop mining within the state,” Ramirez stated.

Whereas Walz’s workplace and the Harris marketing campaign didn’t reply to requests for remark, the governor has repeatedly stated he’s centered on following the legislation and seeing allowing play out. Strengthening Minnesota’s allowing regime has to occur by means of the legislative — not government — course of, he’s emphasised.

“I do assist accountable utilization of minerals, particularly ones that may lead us to a clear power financial system,” Walz advised the information web site MinnPost in 2019. “However I take every certainly one of these as a person and I do assume you need to do the chance evaluation on if it may be achieved.”

The initiatives on the desk for northern Minnesota are of specific concern to tribes just like the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. They’ve warned that pollution may seep into wetlands and waterways, damaging wild rice crops. A dietary staple, wild rice performs a central position within the migration story of the Anishinaabe folks of modern-day Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, North Dakota and Montana. E&E Information reached out to seven Anishinaabe reservations, together with the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and 4 Dakota communities in Minnesota, however obtained no touch upon Walz’s mining or environmental document.

Knopf desires the Legislature to take up a invoice to require overseas mining firms to indicate the place sulfide mining has been achieved safely within the U.S. earlier than transferring ahead in Minnesota. However he stated Democrats have been reluctant to carry hearings.

Whereas applauding Walz’s general work on local weather and power, Kathryn Hoffman, CEO of Minnesota Middle for Environmental Advocacy, stated she was upset state companies below the governor’s management defended permits for one mine — the proposed NorthMet open-pit copper and nickel mine — in courtroom. Hoffman famous that the DNR accredited permits for the mine in late 2018, earlier than Walz took workplace, however his administration continued to defend them.

“I want that the governor’s companies had acknowledged the numerous issues with the [NorthMet] permits and fairly than defend them in courtroom, I want that they had taken these permits again to rethink and enhance them,” stated Hoffman.

Hoffman stated she hopes that being on the nationwide stage — removed from the state stress to mine — will permit Walz to have a look at the difficulty extra holistically and push for stronger rules for proposed mines, in addition to a larger emphasis on mineral recycling.

Defending the Boundary Waters

Through the years, Walz has shared his private connections to Minnesota’s Boundary Waters, an enormous wilderness that covers greater than 1 million acres, contains greater than 1,000 lakes and spans 150 miles alongside the U.S.-Canada border.

Contemporary off clinching his gubernatorial submit in 2019, Walz shared with reporters at an annual DNR gathering that he hunts, fishes, hikes and paddles in that a part of the Superior Nationwide Forest.

It’s additionally the place his brother Craig was killed by a falling tree throughout a storm in 2016, an accident that left different members of the family injured. The world is “sacred to our household,” Walz stated.

Ingrid Lyons, government director of the Marketing campaign to Save the Boundary Waters, stated Walz acknowledges that the Boundary Waters and its watershed is the “crown jewel of our state” and has defended it from mining.

“Underneath his management, related companies have adopted the processes and legal guidelines, advancing state-level protections for the Wilderness, which have bolstered that America’s most poisonous trade doesn’t belong within the headwaters of its most visited Wilderness space,” stated Lyons.

Libby London, a spokesperson for the Boundary Waters marketing campaign, stated the Minnesota Division of Pure Sources below Walz protected the world, together with suspending an environmental assessment of the proposed Twin Metals copper and nickel mine — which might be positioned about 5 miles away — after the Biden administration canceled two federal mineral leases for the undertaking. The state additionally rejected using state land for disposing of tailings, stated London.

The state acted after the Biden administration stepped in, most dramatically when Inside Secretary Deb Haaland final yr signed an order withdrawing greater than 220,000 acres within the Superior Nationwide Forest, defending the world for 20 years from mining or different growth. That transfer, which successfully halted the Twin Metals undertaking, possible wouldn’t have occurred if Walz had actively opposed it, London argued.

Whereas environmentalists celebrated the transfer, many in Iron Vary cities — which have seen their historic mining trade decline — chafed on the federal interference.

Former President Donald Trump, who’s campaigned within the area twice since Could, has recognized it as a potent line of assault in opposition to Harris. Throughout a marketing campaign rally late final month in St. Cloud, Trump vowed to open the Iron Vary to mining by reversing the Biden administration’s 20-year mining ban.

“We’ll finish that ban, in about, what do you assume, in about 10 minutes, I might say about 10 to fifteen minutes, proper Pete,” Trump stated from the rostrum, with a nod to Republican Rep. Pete Stauber of Minnesota, who attended the rally.

Stauber, whose congressional district is residence to the Twin Metals undertaking, has led legislative efforts to reverse the withdrawal on Capitol Hill. In an announcement, the congressman stated there’s no proof that the governor is “pro-mining.”

“He has stood silent on the Biden-Harris anti-mining, anti-energy insurance policies. He embraces pointless and duplicative assessment processes for main initiatives and helps economically devastating California-style power mandates,” stated Stauber. “He helps the Biden-Harris anti-mining agenda that’s ‘Wherever however America, Any employee however American.’”

Karoline Leavitt, press secretary for the Trump marketing campaign, blasted Walz for supporting the Biden administration’s mining withdrawal.

“Tim Walz is a rubber stamp for Kamala Harris and has supported the identical dangerously liberal insurance policies together with endorsing the Inexperienced New Rip-off, banning fracking, and killing good paying power jobs,” she stated.

Assist from miners, unions

Mining firms and the unions that characterize their employees don’t see Walz as a mine killer.

The Division of Pure Sources, or DNR, below Walz’s management is continuous to defend in courtroom permits for the proposed NorthMet copper, nickel and valuable metallic mine, which might be constructed on the grounds of a tapped iron mine. Gail Nosek, a spokesperson for the company, stated the DNR “doesn’t advocate for or in opposition to initiatives,” however “after we make regulatory choices, if challenged, we do defend them.”

Inexperienced teams have argued the state’s guidelines for siting copper, nickel, zinc, gold, and silver mines are too weak to guard the Boundary Waters. However the DNR in courtroom stated the rules are largely protecting, and rejected the teams’ request toban sulfide mining within the Wet River Headwaters watershed, which is a part of the Boundary Waters. Nosek with the DNR stated the company doesn’t have the authority to enact a ban, which might require the Legislature to step in.

Most not too long ago, the company accredited exploration on state land about 10 miles from the Boundary Waters. Nosek with the DNR stated the company can’t outright reject an exploration plan the place there’s an energetic and legitimate minerals lease in place.

Julie Lucas, government director of MiningMinnesota, the official commerce affiliation representing main mining initiatives like Twin Metals, NorthMet and Pulsar Helium, an organization trying to find helium in northeastern Minnesota, stated the Walz is “pragmatic.”

“He rises above the politics of it and understands you possibly can’t construct out clear power with out the minerals,” stated Lucas. “He acknowledges the usrelies on overseas nations like China for lots of these minerals. He desires to see the local weather objectives met with clear power applied sciences and he is aware of that requires uncooked supplies.”

Todd Malan, chief exterior affairs officer for Talon, stated Walz has centered on the rigorous, science based mostly allowing system that totally considers potential adverse impacts of mining and potential mitigation of these impacts. Malan stated Walz has additionally acknowledged the optimistic financial impacts of mining and potential for good paying union jobs, and must be credited for making certain that tribal sovereign governments have a full seat on the desk within the allowing course of from the start of the method.

“Governor Walz has demonstrated a wise strategy to allowing that features consideration of a number of essential components. Mining opponents that disregard and demean issues of job creation, present dependence on China for minerals like nickel, new methods to stop environmental impacts and are simply centered on preempting the science based mostly allowing course of make a strategic mistake,” stated Malan. “Walz isn’t inquisitive about tradition wars when essential points are at stake.”

Final yr, Malan traveled to Australia with Walz as a part of an eight-day commerce mission to advertise Minnesota enterprise together with representatives from renewable power teams and indigenous companies.

Ramirez, with the United Steelworkers, stated Walz has constantly supported the mining sector in Minnesota, noting that each one mines within the state are union retailers.

The union has neutrality agreements with initiatives going by means of the allowing course of — together with Talon Metallic Co.’s Tamarack nickel and copper undertaking and the NorthMet mine — which have agreed to work with the United Steelworkers upon completion, Ramirez stated.

As for Trump’s insistence that he’ll deliver the Iron Vary “roaring again to life,” Ramirez stated Walz is already getting the job achieved.

“I feel it’s a play that Trump in all probability makes use of, however I don’t see something in any respect about Gov. Walz ever wavering from his assist for our miners,” stated Ramirez. “He’s been to the Iron Vary quite a few occasions, to our union halls, at rallies, and has at all times proven his assist for the miners on the Iron Vary.”